Divinity of Hell
by Malana
Summary: Smallville crossover. Willow/Lex, Chloe/Clark. Willow goes to Smallville to get a book from Lionel. Trouble ensues. WIP
1. Chapter 1

Title: Divinity of Hell Smallville/Buffy x-over

Author: Malana

Pairing: Willow/Lex Chloe/Clark?

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. Don't sue

Summary: Willow is sent to Smallville, trouble ensues *challenge response*

Spoilers: Smallville: Lionel is no longer blind, but he is still living in Lex's mansion. For Buffy: 4th season. Oz is gone. Pre-Tara

Warning: There might be slight Lana/Buffy bashing.

Distribution: Want it, take it, just tell me

Feedback:Please!

A/N: I've just gotten into Smallville, and this is my first fic with it.

"You want me to go where?" Willow Rosenberg asked, not sure if she had heard correctly,

Rupert Giles let out a sigh, "Kansas. A town called Smallville to be exact."

"And you want me to go halfway across the country why?"

"I need you to get a book for me. It is currently in the possession of a Mr. Lionel Luthor. He has agreed to sell it to me. It is quite valuable, so I don't want to risk having it sent here by post. I know it isn't the ideal solution, but I'd like you to pick it up for me."

"Wait a minute. Did you say Lionel Luthor? As in LuthorCorp? I've read about him, Giles. The man's a slime ball."

Giles removed his glasses, and began cleaning them on his shirt. "Yes, yes. Look, I know the situation isn't ideal, but I've been tracking this book down for years. I would go to Smallville myself, but I know you've been wanting to take sometime off from the Hellmouth ever since...."

Giles trailed off, but Willow knew what he meant, and he was right. Ever since Oz had left, Willow had wanted to get away. There just hadn't been time. But now demon activity had finally slowed, and school was no longer in session. If there was an opportunity to get out of Sunnydale for a week or so, maybe she should take it, even if it meant going to Kansas.

"All right, Giles. I'll go."

Giles smiled, "Thank you, Willow. I'll contact Mr. Luther and get the details straightened out."

One week later

Willow drove down the highway in her rented convertible, the top down, wind in her hair. A few hours ago her plane had landed at Metropolis airport. Now she was on her way to Smallville. Willow had done some research on the town. She hadn't found out much. It seemed like a fairly normal small town, except that there had been a freak meteor storm some years back.

Soon Willow was driving down Main Street. Her meeting with Mr. Luthor wasn't until tomorrow, and it was still a few hours before she would be able to check into her hotel. She had decided to kill time by exploring the town.

Up the street, a marquee caught her eye. "The Talon" it read, "Special Today: Half Priced Lattes." Deciding that coffee sounding like a good idea, Willow eased into a parking spot in front of the shop. She walked inside and closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the delicious aroma.

It was, she would realize, not the smartest idea to stand in the doorway of a busy coffee shop with one's eyes closed. A hard body slammed into her. Willow's eyes flew open and she saw a handsome young man standing before her mouth. She wasn't focused on the man's looks however; she was more concerned with the very hot coffee that was quickly soaking through her shirt. She gasped at the heat of it and cursed softly.

"Oh, God. I'm so sorry, Miss."

Willow grimaced, "It's okay. I mean I was the one blocking the doorway. I didn't even have my eyes open."

"Still," the man replied, "I should have been watching where I was going. Can I get you napkins or anything? I know the woman who runs the place, maybe she has some seltzer water, or even a shirt you could change into."

Willow shook her head, "No, that's okay. I have a suitcase full of clothing in my car. I'm in town a for a few days on business."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Really, business? In Smallville?"

Laughing a little, Willow nodded. "Yes, actually. I'm meeting with Lionel Luthor."

Shock flashed across the young man's face, "No offense, but you look pretty young. What business could you have with Lionel Luther?"

"Well, no offense to you," Willow countered, "But I don't see how that's any of your concern."

The man smiled a little and extended his hand, "Hello, I'm Lex. Lionel Luthor is my father."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

"You're Lex Luthor?" As soon as he announced who he was, Willow was kicking herself. She should have recognized him sooner. After all, she had seen his face in countless newspaper and magazine articles. He wasn't exactly easy to forget with his bald head, and piercing eyes. He was handsome enough in pictures, Willow thought, but in person he was breathtaking.

"In the flesh," Lex answered, "and you are?"

Realizing Lex was still holding his hand out; Willow quickly reached out and shook it. "I'm Willow Rosenberg."

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Rosenberg." Lex took in Willow's appearance. She was beautiful, even with her coffee stained shirt. It was her hair that really caught his attention. It was a wonderful shade of red. Still, the girl was young. She didn't look like she could be much past high school. He wondered what the hell she could have to do with his father. Lex knew he would have to find out, he didn't like not being on top of his father's business activities.

"Please, Miss Rosenberg, let me buy you a cup of coffee. It's the least I could do after ruining your shirt." Lex flashed her a smile, hoping she would find it as charming as most women seemed to.

Willow nearly melted as a smile spread across Lex's face. Since Oz's abrupt departure, no guys had really caught Willow's eye, but there was just something innately sexy about the man currently standing in front of her. And if said man wanted to buy her coffee, who was she to say no. She smiled back at Lex brightly.

"Coffee sounds wonderful, but I should probably change out of this shirt first. Where are the bathrooms in this place?" Lex pointed them out to her, and after running out to her car to grab a shirt, she went to change.

While Willow was changing, Lex snagged a table. He was fairly pleased with himself. He would be having coffee with a pretty girl, and if he played his cards right, he would figure out exactly what kind of business she had with his father. As he was waiting for Willow to come back, Lex spotted Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan enter the shop. They noticed him and headed in his direction.

"Hey, Lex." Clark called. "Mind if we join you?"

Though in truth he would have rather had Willow to himself, Lex nodded. He liked their company, and maybe Willow would to. Not to mention that if anyone would be able to get information out of Miss Rosenberg, it would be Chloe. The young reporter had the tenacity of a pit bull.

"Sure, grab a seat. Actually another young woman will be joining us."

"Really?" Chloe asked, "Got a girlfriend, Lex?"

"No," Lex answered, "She isn't my girlfriend."

Clark raised an eyebrow, "So, who is she?" he asked.

"Her name is Willow Rosenberg. Turns out she's in town to see me father. I accidentally spilled coffee all over her. She's in the bathroom changing her shirt. She should be back any second."

On cue Willow walked up to the table. Lex smiled at her again.

"Ah, Miss Rosenberg, there you are."

"Please, call me Willow." She sat down next to Lex.

"All right. Willow, this is Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan. Clark, Chloe, this is Willow. Tell you what; I'm going to go get drinks for everyone. What would you all like?" Lex asked, standing.

The three gave him their orders, and sat in silence for a moment. Then Chloe's curiosity got the better of her.

"So, Willow. What business do you have with Lionel Luthor?"

Willow looked at the girl in surprise.

"Chloe!" Clark admonished. "I'm sorry about her, Willow. It's her reporter instinct. She can be a bit pushy sometimes," he explained jokingly.

"I'm not pushy, Clark. I'm just persistent. Anyway, with summer vacation I don't have The Torch to work on, and my internship at the Daily Planet doesn't start until next month. I have to do something to keep in practice." Chloe grinned at her best friend.

Willow laughed. "It's okay, really. I can understand your curiosity. I mean, I just finished my freshmen year at college, I am pretty young to be meeting with Mr. Luthor."

Just then Lex returned, "I gave Lana our order, she said she'd bring it over. So what are you all talking about?" he asked, once again taking a seat.

Chloe grinned, "Willow here was just about to tell us why she's meeting with your father."

Willow was quiet, wondering if she should tell them anything. She didn't know why, but she really felt comfortable with them. Well, she thought, it couldn't hurt just to tell them the very basics.

"Actually, I'm here for a friend. Mr. Luthor has a book that my friend is purchasing. I wanted a vacation anyway, so I agreed to come out here and pick it up."

Well, thought Lex, that isn't too bad. It didn't seem to be anything that would concern him. Lex was glad, he really wasn't in the mood to battle his father anytime soon, he had been doing that way too much lately.

Willow was glad when there were no further questions. She was worried that there might be, but right then a girl with long brown hair approached the table with a tray of coffee.

"Lana! Hi!" Clark exclaimed, lighting up when he saw her. "Lana this is Willow Rosenberg. Willow, Lana Lang"

Willow had a hard time suppressing a smile; it was so obvious that Clark liked this Lana girl. Willow glanced at Chloe, and could swear that a flash of pain had gone passed her face. Willow recognized the look; she realized that it was probably exactly how she had used to look when Xander had mooned over other girls. Willow felt a stab of sympathy for Chloe. She wasn't sure, but she guessed that Chloe had a crush on Clark, and no one knew better than Willow how painful it was to have a crush on a friend that wasn't returned.

"Nice to meet you, Willow. I haven't seen you around before, are you new in town?" Lana asked.

"Actually, I'm here on vacation." Willow replied.

"Wow, I didn't think anyone would want to vacation in a town like Smallville."

"Hey, I have an idea!" Chloe said. "Why don't we take Willow on a tour of town. I mean, there's not a whole lot here, but it could be fun."

Willow smiled, she really liked Chloe, she seemed like a lot of fun. "That'd be great."

Lex nodded in agreement, "Sounds like a good plan. Clark, what do you think?"

"Yeah, that sounds fun. Wanna come with us, Lana?" he asked hopefully.

Lana shook her head, "Sorry, I can't. I have way too much to do here at the Talon. In fact, I should be getting back to the counter. I'll see you guys later. It was nice to meet you, Willow." With that, Lana left the table to get back to work.

Clark looked disappointed, but Chloe was grinning, "All right guys, lets finish our drinks, then we can show Willow around. Smallville may seem like a pretty boring place, but you wouldn't believe the weird stuff that happens here."

The last part of what Chloe said caught Willow's attention. "Really? What exactly do you mean by weird stuff?"

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

"We have mutants!" Chloe explained, excitedly.

Clark groaned. "Don't encourage her, Willow. One she gets started on a subject she won't let it go."

Chloe elbowed him in the ribs and grinned, "That's just one of the many things you love about me, Clark Kent."

Clark laughed lightly and slung his arm around Chloe's shoulders. "Another thing we all love about Chlo is her incredibly modesty," he joked.

Willow smiled at the two of them. Despite Clark's obvious crush on Lana Lang, Willow didn't think it would take too big of a push to get these two friends together. But right now, she had more important things to be thinking about.

"You have mutants?" She asked, not quite sure what to think.

Chloe nodded her head vigorously, "Ever since the meteor shower. There have been all sorts: people with telekinetic powers, a girl who could shape shift, a guy who could control insects."

"I know it sounds farfetched," Lex broke in, "but Chloe is correct. There have been some very unusual occurrences in this town."

"Well, it's better than their being another hellmouth," Willow muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Chloe asked.

"Oh, nothing. So mutants, that's really interesting, and you think that it's linked to the meteor shower?" Willow asked, wanting to get the attention off herself. But she noticed Clark was giving her a strange look. She wondered if he might have heard what she had said about the hellmouth. She hoped not. She didn't think she was ready to talk about her adventures in Sunnydale.

Clark studied Willow as Chloe explained her theories. What, he wondered, was a hellmouth? She obviously hadn't meant for the others to hear her, and without his enhanced hearing he wouldn't have. He didn't want to make her suspicious, by asking her about it. Maybe he should talk to Chloe about it later. She could help him research it. She was great with stuff like that.

Lex was also studying Willow. There was something he found intriguing about her. She was beautiful, yes, but that wasn't it. Lex had been with many beautiful women. There was just something different about Willow, the way her face lit up while she was listening to Chloe, and offering suggestions of her own. She had a radiance about her. He knew she wasn't staying in Smallville long, but he hoped that she would be able to spend more time with her; she seemed like someone he should get to know better.

Even while listening to Chloe, Willow's mind was racing. The stuff that happened in this town was fascinating. She had done lots of research on demons and magic, but mutants were different. They were based in science. Chloe's theory on the meteors being the cause of it all was very interesting. Willow wanted more time to study it. She was only supposed to be in town for the week, but already she was considering on calling Giles and telling him that she would be staying longer.

Chloe was glad that Willow seemed interested in what she was saying. Sure, Pete and Clark were too, but after a while they tended to get fed up with her. Though they always were there to help stop the bad guys, they just didn't seem to hold the same obsession with it that she did. It looked like Willow could be a kindred spirit for Chloe. Too bad she was only in town on vacation. But there was another good thing that had come out of Willow's visit: the tour they would be giving her. This would be time for Chloe to spend with Clark and best of all Lana wouldnÕt be there.


	4. Chapter 4

Later

The tour Chloe, Clark, and Lex had given Willow had been a lot of fun. Willow had gotten along really well with the group, and the four of them had agreed to meet for lunch the next day. Pete and Lana would be joining them.

Chloe was pleased that Pete would be coming with them. After all, he was her one of her best friends, and she thought that he would get along well with Willow. It had taken some convincing to get him to come, since Lex was going to be there. But finally, after some pleading on Chloe's part, Pete had agreed to come.

Chloe was less pleased that Lana would be coming. She felt bad about resenting Lana, but she couldnÕt help it. She didn't understand what Clark saw in Lana. Yes, the girl was pretty. Yes, she was very sweet. But that's all she was. Lana just didn't have much substance. She was smart, and popular, but she didn't have depth, and she had a selfish streak a mile long. Chloe had noticed that any conversation with Lana, not matter what the topic, eventually turned into a conversation ABOUT Lana.

Now, maybe she was a little biased, but Chloe couldn't help but fell like Clark deserved someone better than Lana. Clark should be with someone, well, someone like Chloe. She had pretty much been best friends with him since she had moved to Smallville. And for much of that time she had a crush on him. No, it was stronger than a crush. Chloe loved him.

When he had gotten really sick, Chloe had become very frightened. She didn't even want to consider what she would do if she lost him. So, she had read him the letter she had written. A letter that confessed her feelings for him, a letter that had told him that she was his dream girl, a letter that told she was willing to wait for him. Of course, he had been unconscious at the time that she read it. She was willing to wait for him though, for as long as it took. But it had still hurt her a lot when he had murmured Lana's name.

As Chloe sat on her bed, thinking about her relationship with Clark, tears came to her eyes. She sniffled a little and angrily wiped at her eyes. She had told herself that she wasn't going to get so upset about him anymore. She would just have to be content with being his friend, and hope that one day he would return her feelings. He had once told her that he would never outgrow her. Chloe prayed that was true.

Suddenly there was a knock on her bedroom door. Chloe quickly stood, and glanced in her mirror, relieved to see it wasn't evident that she had been crying. She went to the door, and opened it, expecting to see her father, or Lana. Instead she found herself staring at her tall, handsome best friend.

"Clark!"

Clark grinned at the surprise in her voice. "Hey, Chloe. I hope I'm not bothering you, or anything. Your dad said I could come on up."

Chloe shook her head, "No problem. Come on in." I swear, Chloe thought, if he's here to talk to me about Lana I am going to scream.

Clark entered Chloe's room, and sat down on her bed. "I was hoping you could help me with something. I need to do some research."

Chloe smiled brightly, "Clark, Clark, Clark. Whatever would you do without me?"

"I don't even want to think about that." Clark responded jokingly, though he did truly mean it. "Anyway, when you were explaining your meteor theory to Willow today, she muttered something under her breath. I don't think I would have noticed, except that what she muttered was really weird. She said something about a hell mouth."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "A hell mouth? Clark, are you sure you heard her correctly?"

Clark nodded, "Very sure. It might be nothing, but it might also be Wall of Weird material, so I thought that you would be the perfect person to come to."

"Okay, Clark." Chloe smirked, "I suppose I can take some of my valuable time to help out my favorite guy. Let's get on my computer and see what we can find out."

Chloe sat at her desk and began working. Clark came and stood behind her, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, thanks Chlo. I knew I could count on you. I always can."

Chloe said nothing in return, only smiled. Maybe for now he could only be her friend, but he was worth the wait.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry this part took so long to come, and that it's so short. I'm just kinda blocked on this story. 

Willow sighed as she relaxed on the bed in her motel room. She'd had a great time that day with Clark, Chloe, and Lex. Chloe's tales of the weird happenings in Smallville had really caught her interest. Willow had decided that she would call Giles in the morning, and tell him that she would be staying in Kansas a while longer. She wanted to research Chloe's meteor theory. 

Truth be told, she also wanted more time to spend with her new friends. After her meeting with Lionel Luthor tomorrow, she would be having lunch with Chloe, Clark, Lex, Lana, and their friend Pete, whom Willow hadn't met yet. She especially wanted to spend some more time with Lex. Since Oz had left, no one had really caught Willow's eye. But Lex certainly had. He had flirted with her the entire day, and Willow had flirted right back. 

Tomorrow was her meeting with Lionel. She was a little scared. From everything she had heard, the elder Luthor was not a good man. But there shouldn't be any problems. She had the money that Giles had given her, and all she had to do was give it to Lionel, and get the book. Willow was very curious as to what kind of magic book it was; it had to be important, as Giles had been tracking it down for a long time. 

Though she had been in Smallville for less than 24 hours, Willow already had several goals for her trip: 1. Get Giles' book 2. Research meteor mutants 3. Push Clark and Chloe together and 4. Get to know Sexy Lexy better. All right, so she would only be in town for a limited amount of time, it wasn't like she could have a really serious relationship with Lex. But Willow didn't really know if she was in the mood for a serious relationship. She just wanted someone to have a good time with, to flirt with a little, maybe go to dinner a few times, that sort of thing. 

Meanwhile at the Sullivan house 

"Clark, I think I found something." Chloe said as her friend returned to her room with coffee in hand. 

Clark hurried over and put the coffee mugs down on the desk. "Yeah? What did you find?" 

Chloe bit her lip as she read more of the computer screen. "This is seriously strange. Apparently the term Hellmouth is literal. According to this site Willow's hometown is sitting on top a mouth of hell. It acts as some sort of magnet for vampires and demons." 

Clark and Chloe exchanged a long look. 

"This can't be true, can it Chloe?" 

"I don't know," Chloe shrugged. "I mean, it seems more than a little farfetched, but so does a lot of the stuff that happens here in Smallville. 

Clark nodded. "Maybe we should go talk to Willow. There has to be some story to explain this." 

Chloe stood up, "You're right. I wrote her motel information down, let's go talk to her." 

Clark almost smiled as Chloe went into reporter mode. Sometimes it bothered him, but when he really thought about it, it was also part of what he loved about her. She just wouldn't be Chloe without her investigative spirit. 

Impulsively, Clark gave Chloe a hug. "Hey, thanks for helping me with this." 

Chloe's eyes widened in surprise at the hug. A huge smile crossed her face; nothing could beat a Clark Kent hug. "No problem, Clark. That's what friends are for. Besides, it 's not like I have a life or anything." 

Clark smiled. "All right, Chlo. Let's find out what's going on." 

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Willow had just gotten out of the shower when there was a knock on her door. Wondering whom it could be, she quickly pulled on a robe and went to answer the door.

"Chloe, Clark. What are you guys doing here?" Willow looked at the duo in confusion. What could they want from her at 11:00 at night. Willow was beginning to get a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She stepped aside and motioned for them to enter the room. "Is something wrong?"

Clark and Chloe entered the motel room and stood awkwardly for a moment, neither of them sure exactly how they should proceed. After several seconds of uncomfortable silence, Chloe spoke.

"We were hoping that you could tell us about the Hellmouth," she said simply.

Clark gave her a look. "Well, I was thinking that we could have built up to that question a little more smoothly. But I guess subtly takes a back seat to Chloe's inquisitiveness.

Willow could feel a headache coming on. She sighed. This was definitely not how she had wanted to spend her night. This was very, very bad. She knew that she could try to deny having any idea what they were talking about, but by the look in Chloe's eyes, she knew that would be futile. She sighed again. "All right, I'm going to go put some clothes on. This could turn out to be a rather long night."

A few minutes later Willow emerged from the bathroom in a pair of pajama bottoms and and Sunnydale University T-shirt. She motioned for Clark and Chloe to take a seat. They sat on the edge of the bed, and Willow grabbed a desk chair, moving it so she could sit across from them.

"So. First off, how do you know about the Hell mouth." Willow asked.

Clark smiled sheepishly, "Well, I heard you mutter something about it under you breath at the 

Talon. It really caught me attention, and I asked Chloe to help me do some research on it. We managed to find out a little: that the name was literal, and that there are demons and vampires and stuff."

Willow nodded, "And how much of it do you believe?

Chloe and Clark exchanged a glance. "Well," Chloe said, "as I was telling you earlier, we've seen a lot of really strange occurrences here in Smallville. Now mutants may be different than demons, but I have to say, I don't think we're really in a position to doubt much. I promise you, nothing you tell us will end up on the front page of the newspaper."

Willow sat in silence for a moment, wondering how much she should tell them. She had only just met them, but she sensed that she could trust them. But still, she wasn't sure how much of her experiences in the past four years she should share. She wasn't so much that she didn't trust Chloe and Clark, it was just that she didn't know if she wanted them to get involved in Sunnydale matters. She didn't want to give them information that might somehow get them into trouble.

While Chloe was watching Willow, anxious for her to speak, Clark was studying Chloe. She was so intellectually curious; he got a kick out of watching the excitement on her face. It dawned on him in that moment that he would never be doing something like this with Lana. He would have never even thought to go to Lana to talk about something like a Hellmouth. Chloe on the other hand took abnormal experiences is stride. Even several close brushes with death didn't stop her from pursuing the truth. As much as her constant drive to get a story could bother him, he knew that when it came down to it, she wouldn't knowingly put a story in front of her friendships. Clark was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, he could tell Chloe his secret.

Willow took a deep breath, and finally began to talk. "I've lived in Sunnydale my whole life. About four years ago a girl named Buffy moved to town. That's when everything changed."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

The Next Morning

Willow stood nervously in the study, waiting for Lionel Luthor to make an appearance. She looked around the room in awe. Willow hadn't seen much of Lex's mansion, but what she had seen was very impressive. She couldn't even image what it would be like to have the kind of money the LuthorÕs had.

"Ah...Ms. Rosenberg. I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting." A deep voice spoke from the doorway, and Willow turned to see the Lionel Luthor. He looked exactly like he did in his pictures: handsome, regal, and a little frightening.

"It's all right, Mr. Luthor. I know you're a busy man."

Lionel walked over to his desk. He sat down and gestured for Willow to do the same. "Please, Ms. Rosenberg, have a seat." He opened one of the desk drawers and pulled out a rather large, and extremely old looking book.

"Is that the book?" Willow asked.

"It is indeed, Ms. Rosenberg."

"Please, call me Willow."

A smile slowly spread across Lionel's face. "Very well, Willow. If you don't mind me cutting right to business, I'd like to talk to you about the payment."

Willow frowned, confused. "I thought that Giles already sent you the money."

Lionel leaned forward, his elbows on his desk, fingers steepled under his chin. "I'm afraid, Willow, that after some investigation of the situation, the price has gone up."

"You should probably call Giles. I really don't know anything about your deal with him. I'm only here to pick up the book."

"Ah, but I'm not talking about more money. It's you I want something from, not Mr. Giles."

Willow's frown deepened. "What are you talking about, Mr. Luthor?"

"I hear you've been spending time with Clark Kent."

There was a long pause. Willow looked at him in shock. "How do you know about that?"

Lionel's grin widened. "I'm a Luthor. I have many resources at my disposal. For instance, I also know that you are a fairly powerful witch. I'd like to make a deal with you."

"You already have a deal with Giles. If youÕre going to break that one, I see no reason why I should trust you." Willow's voice held an edge of anger in it.

"You're friend has been searching for this book for quite a while. I'm offering it to you. All I want is one small favor."

There was a look in Lionel's eyes that Willow recognized, but she couldn't place it. Then it hit her. It was predatorial. It was a look she had often seen in the eyes of vampires. It was a look she had seen in Angelus' eyes. It frightened her, seeing it now.

"What do you want?" Willow finally asked.

"I want you to find out everything you can about Clark Kent." Lionel said simply.

Willow almost laughed. "What? Why would you be interested in Clark Kent?"

"Mr. Kent is a very interesting young man. He has secrets. I want to know them. If you want the book, you'll figure them out."

Willow stood up. "There's no way I going to help you. I don't know Clark well, but I would not betray him like that."

Lionel raised a hand to stop Willow. "Not even if this book could help a friend?"

Willow studied his face. "What are you talking about?"

Lionel smirked. "Well, I suggest that you give Mr. Giles a call. You should ask him why this book is so important."

"I don't believe you." But despite her words, Willow was very curious. She wondered what he could possibly be talking about.

"Call him. Like you said, you barely know Mr. Kent. I'm offering you a chance to help a loved one. I'll contact you tomorrow. You can give me your answer then."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Willow sat on the bed in her hotel room. She didn't trust Lionel Luthor, not at all. She didn't know what he wanted with Clark, but it couldn't be good. She wondered why someone like Lionel would be interested in a teenage farm boy. It just didn't make sense. That's what worried her; she simply could not figure out what his motives were.

Willow chewed on her lower lip, lost in thought. He had asked her to spy on Clark. Could she really do that? She barely knew Clark, but from everything that she had seen, he was a great guy. 

Even if she wasn't, could she really do something like that?

Willow didn't like the idea of making a deal with the devil, especially since she wasn't entirely sure what the devil was after. Lionel had seemed so confident that she would take his offer. 

Remembering the say he had smirked at her made Willow shudder. He was creepy, bad, and quite possibly evil. 

What could possibly be in that book that Mr. Luthor thought she would take him up on his offer. 

Perhaps he simply thought that everyone was as morally corrupt as he seemed to be. But Willow didn't think that was it. He truly believed that once she knew what the book contained she would change her mind. 

She knew that she should just tell him to fuck off. But she couldn't. She had to know what Lionel had been talking about.

Willow reached over to grab the phone, and shakily punched in the number to Giles apartment, hoping he would be in.

"Hello?"

Willow breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the familiar British accent.

"Giles? It's Willow." 

"Ah, Willow. I'm glad you called. Have you gotten the book yet?"

"Um, no. Not yet. I'll be meeting with Mr. Luthor tomorrow." Willow wasn't sure why, but she felt the need to keep what had happened earlier a secret.

"Actually, that's kind of what I called you about. I mean, I also called to tell you that I plan on staying here longer than I planned. I really like it hear Giles. I've met some really cool people, and there's some weird stuff going on here that I'd like to investigate, something to do with the meteor shower. I know I was supposed to be coming back, but I don't think that Sunnydale will fall apart with out me, it's not like I'm the Slayer or anything."

Giles chuckled softly. "Willow, you're babbling again. It's fine if you want to stay in Smallville longer. Just be careful. Now, you say that you called about the book?"

"Oh, right." Willow paused. "I was wondering just what it was about the book that was so important. I mean, how careful do I have to be with it?"

"Well, as I told you before, I've been searching for the book for years. It has a lot of powerful spells in it. But I renewed my search for it just this past year. Willow, I don't want you to tell Buffy, because I don't want to get her hopes up, or to make her go through the emotional upheaval now that she's with Riley; but I'm fairly certain that this book holds a spell that will make Angel's soul permanent."


	9. Chapter 9

Lex Luthor sat in his study, his feet up on the desk, a book in his hands. But his mind was not on the book. It was, in fact, the red-headed beauty he had met yesterday that filled his thoughts. She had been charming, intelligent, and witty. She was also undeniably cute. He was looking forward to the lunch they would be sharing. 

He rather wished that it would just be the two of them. He enjoyed Clark's company, and he also enjoyed playing verbal judo with Miss Sullivan. But truth be told, he found Lana rather boring. As for Pete, well Pete hated him Lex had no idea how the others had convinced Pete to come to lunch with them, but he wished that they hadn't. 

Willow was only in town for a few weeks, Lex realized that. He also realized that she was a few years younger than him. She was still in college, in fact. He was Lex Luthor. He had more important things to be focusing on, keeping his Father from taking over LexCorp for one thing. He didn't have time to focus on an infatuation that had no real chance of going anywhere. 

But still, he was looking forward to lunch. He was looking forward to spending time with Willow, even if it would be as part of a group. He simply couldn't get her out of his mind. He wanted her; and what Lex Luthor wanted, he got. 

-Sullivan House-- 

Chloe was in front of her bedroom mirror, running a hand through her hair, when she heard the doorbell ring. She took one last look in the glass before hurrying out of the room and down the stairs. She opened the door and smiled when she saw who was standing there. 

"Clark! What are you doing here? We're meeting everyone for lunch in 15 minutes." 

Clark returned Chloe's smile. "I know. I thought I'd offer a ride." 

Chloe's smile faded a little, realizing why Clark was most likely here. "Lana's not in. One of the waitresses at the Talon called in sick, so she had to fill in. She's not even sure if she's going to be able to join us for lunch." 

Clark nodded. "I know, I was in there earlier, dropping off pies for my mom." 

Chloe studied him for a moment. "So, stopping by here isn't part of your on-going quest for Lana lovin'?" 

"What, I'm not allowed to give my best friend a ride?" Clark asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"It's just that a lot of the time, when you're here, it's to see Lana." 

"Chlo, not everything that I do is about Lana." 

"It doesn't always seem that way." Chloe said quietly. She instantly regretted her words. She didn't want to have this conversation with Clark again, not right now, not when things had been going so well between them. 

Clark looked at Chloe for a moment. He saw the hurt in her eyes, and it nearly killed him. "Chloe, if I have ever made you feel like you're not as important to me as Lana......I mean, you're my best friend Chloe. You mean the world to me. Don't you remember what I told you before? I'm never going to outgrow you." 

Blinking back tears, Chloe nodded. She was so glad that Clark remembered that day in the hallway at school. "I'm sorry, Clark. I just worry about losing you." 

Clark pulled Chloe into his arms. "Never worry about that, Chloe. That's never going to happen; I promise." He reached his hand to Chloe's face, and gently brushed the tears off of her cheeks. Come on, why don't we head to the restaurant." 

Chloe nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She pulled away from Clark and the two of them walked towards his truck, hand in hand.


	10. Chapter 10

Willow hung up the phone and let out a sigh. What the hell was she going to do? She felt completely helpless. She had a chance to make Angel's soul permanent. But she didn't trust Lionel 

Luthor. Willow couldn't imagine what Mr. Luthor's interest in Clark Kent was, but it couldn't be good. Still, she had a chance to help Angel.

Willow knew that Angel would never want her to get involved in something like this on his behalf. But Angel deserved this. He deserved a chance to be happy. And the fact was, this wouldn't just be helping Angel. If he ever lost his soul again......well, Willow didn't' even want to think about that. Making Angel's soul permanent could save lives.

She didn't trust Lionel. She knew that she shouldn't have anything to do with something he was a part of. Even if she hadn't know his history as a corrupt businessman, it only took a few minutes of talking with him to realize he was a slime ball.

Clark seemed like a really good guy. Willow couldn't imagine what someone like Lionel would want with him. At the same time, that made Willow think that maybe she could do this. She didn't think that Clark's secret, if he really had one, could be anything too damaging. And if it was, well, then she could simply tell Lionel to go to hell. She could agree to his plan, but she didn't have to follow through with it.

Letting out a sigh, Willow fall back onto the bed. She didn't believe it. She had actually decided to spy on someone, someone who could be a friend. As much as she believed that she had made the right decision, she couldn't help but fell that by doing this she was crossing some sort of line, and that maybe she wouldn't be able to ever cross back.

Her gaze fell on the alarm clock on the night stand. She shot to her feet. She was supposed to meet Lex and the others for lunch in just a few minutes. If she didn't hurry, she was going to be late. Despite all of her worries, Willow was excited about lunch. She was looking forward to spending more time with Lex Luthor.

In just the few hours she had spent with him the other day, she had felt something. There was a spark there, and she wanted to explore it. It wasn't like she could pursue any sort of long term relationship with the young billionaire. After all, she had to go back to Sunnydale before too long. But she still wanted to get to know him better.

She wanted to get to know the others too. Chloe seemed like a great girl, and from what she had been told about Pete, she was looking forward to meeting him too. Then there was Lana. Willow had just met her briefly, but she seemed nice enough. From what she had gathered Clark had a rather large crush on the girl. In just the few hours they had spent together, Willow realized that this fact bothered Chloe more than little.

Clark, may have a crush on Lana, but Willow had noticed a spark between him and Chloe. Well, as long as she was interfering in areas she shouldn't, maybe she should do something good too. Willow bit her lip. It wasn't as if hooking up Chloe and Clark would make up for what she was doing. She wasn't sure if anything would make up for a partnership with Lionel Luthor.

Willow sighed and shook her head. She couldn't do this now. She had to go and meet the others for lunch. She could wrestle with her conscience later. Now just wasn't the time. Willow glanced in the mirror, making sure that she looked presentable. She ran a finger though her hair and headed for the door, grabbing the keys to her rental car on the way out.


End file.
